


I'll be fine

by hyattdeath



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Amputation, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fantasy Racism, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Trans Male Character, Trans Taako (The Adventure Zone), all violence is marked off and you can skip it, everyone in the ipre multiclass they just dont remember, some misgendering but not on purpose, taako takes a big hit but he'll be ok
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-06-23 20:13:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15614133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyattdeath/pseuds/hyattdeath
Summary: his aunt taught him to stay away from the half-earsa few weeks after glamour springs he gets sloppy and decides to trust some that was a mistakehe'll learn to trust again





	1. well then

**Author's Note:**

> hi so yeah im scared to post this????? if you like it and wanna read more let me know? cuz right now idk what im doing
> 
> also!!!!!! hey for one theres graphic violence that happens this chapter but i put a warning before it so you can skip it and i put a thing in so you know when its done 
> 
> also also i have reading comprehension issues and i have no beta so i hope to god this makes sense but uuuuh if it doesnt sorry???

As a child, he had been left as an offering to the raven queen in one of her few temples. He was half wild and half wood elf and although to a human, no one would know considering his looks came more from his wood elf side it was still noticeable to other elves. A half-wild elf was considered bad luck, someone who brings death and destruction to all, but giving the child to the raven queen was said to bring good luck back to all in the caravan. Its said the child would be taken in by the raven queen as her child and eventually made into one of her ravens or crows.

Taako always figured that was to make the mother feel better about giving up her child. Life wasn't very fair to a half wild elf and he was lucky he hadn't been killed as soon as he was born. A beautiful sun elf had found him in the temple and taken him in. the woman was of no blood to him she wasn't even the same sub-species of elf as him but she took him in letting him into the caravan she came from even letting him call her auntie and taught him everything she knew. what she didn't know she went to others and asked them to teach her so she could teach him in turn. 

He has many many fond memories of her teaching him to cook, sew and clean, of her combing and fixing his long curly hair. Of letting him touch her long thin blonde hair. Of her tail twirling with his to keep him close. Of singing to him in true elvish, her elvish was a soft smooth bass were his has always been more of a mix of a fiddle and violin. She even listened and accepted when he became a boy.

A big thing she had taught him was to stay away from the human folk, elven body parts were worth a lot to the half-eared kind. A cup of elven blood was over 2,000gps, there were many horror stories of elves getting a little to close to the half-eared ones all alone and all that was left of them was a few pieces. And despite the adults attempts every child had at one point or another snuck out after they were banished to there beds for the night only to catch a glimpse of what was left the latest elf that had gone missing from the caravan. It only ever takes one before they stay in their beds when told to.

His aunt died when he was around the human equivalent of a 12-year-old, she passed at a young age from pneumonia just like half the caravan though rumors were it was actually poison from the humans from the last town they had been in. she had been quarantined like the others, the leader and elder of the caravan had died as well and the man who took over kicked out all mixed elves. The 10 or so mixed elves that were kicked out with him split and scattered no one wanted people like them and being split up gave them all better chances.

He then went from caravan to caravan till meeting the half-tiefling man sazed. He was stupid and young and never had gotten so close to anyone with human blood He thought he loved sazed and he thought sazed loved him but then again it didn't take long to figure out that he didn't, although it took a few too many black eyes for taako to realize that. He never did leave sazed though he's sure his poor aunt is rolling in her grave at his stupidity, oh well she’d probably be more angry with the fact he just killed 40 people with his aunts well loved 30 clove chicken.

A few weeks later he decided to drown himself in the cheapest ale possible in some random town far too small to even get news about the murders. he's never even passed through this town in one of the many caravans he has lived in although he never was one to pay attention to the names. he's on his 5th tankard when a man with a strange symbol on his hand comes up to him starts to whisper sweet words in his ears about how beautiful he is how there is no way he's from a place like this how lucky the man is for finding him even going so far as to buy him a drink.

Taako is by no means a smart man but he wasn't born yesterday he is almost 75 years old not close to an adult by his kinds standards but at least a few decades older than this chump. The man grabs his arm and tries to pull him off his stool toward a group of men in a booth all with the same symbol on their hands. The bartender jumps when taako snarls at the man showing off his large sharp teeth his ears down and back tight against his head he is ready to fight. The man makes soothing noises and says “we just wanna talk! I just have a small proposition for you is all”

As the man slowly backs away back to the booth the bartender blinks back his surprise and sneers at taako “don't start fights in my bar or ill call the militia! we don't take kindly to little bunny rabbits picking fights with respectable town folk”

Taako throws what he owes onto the bar and walks toward the strange man's table sneering over his shoulder in elvish “get fucked half-ears you ain't shit” the man sputters as the sounds of a screeching violin comes from his tiny frame, most humans weren’t used to true elvish anyway. he pulls a chair from a surrounding table and after curling his tail tightly around his leg he sits at the end of the booth so as to not get caged in. “so what kinda proposition we making my man it better be good or I'm cursing all of you so your dicks all fall off” 

The men chuckle as the one who came up to taako to begin with slides a gold coin over to taako he snatches it quickly and looks it over to see if its real, the man leans in and whispers “we’ve been working on a spell and we need some blood” taako scrunches his face and the man quickly adds “just a single cup full we just need it to paint a summoning circle”

“Just one single cup, as in the actual measurement cup not like a huge chalice or anything right?” 

“Of course, of course, we can give you a place to stay the night or buy you a room here as well as pay you handsomely we can get you a meal as well you’ll need it you may be dizzy after we take some blood”

If his aunt could see him she’d give him a good whack to the head for this “Ok I guess let's go?”

___________________________________________________________________

The men and him all left the inn in a carriage going through the town and up a long dark hill to a what seems like a giant house. Taako doesn't have to much time to look around the rooms as he's quickly ushered into a library, there's a place big enough for a rather large summoning circle to be drawn.

Hes sat down at a small table near a fireplace as one lights it another goes and grabs a cup for the blood and a third sits down and scoots his chair up to taako. “Sooooo how we doing this?” 

The man who talked to him first comes up behind him placing his large hands on taakos shoulders laughing as taako jumps and his tightly wound tail starts to thump against his chair in agitation. “Just have to take the knife and give yourself a deep cut on your arm we’ll catch the blood for you.”

Taako gulps as the man sitting in front of him hands him a small paring knife, he catches a small glance of more knives. He knows he needs to leave now he just has to figure it out. The man behind him must notice he's quickly becoming scared as he tightens his grip and inches closer to his neck. “Lets.. let's do this quick ok” he quickly cuts his arm drawing blood and letting the man fill the cup.

Taako can hear the other men coming up around him he can feel his heart beat hard in his throat. As soon as the cup is full, it and the knife are snatched away taako grabs his arm to help stop the blood and quickly tries to stand.

\----------(tw!!!! gore and violence ahead!!!!!!!! Skip to the next lil part if need be!!!!!!----------

The man behind him grabs him by the neck and pulls taako and the chair backward. As the chair falls to the ground he lifts him and drags him over closer to where the man with the cup is now drawing a circle. He tries to scream but is cut off as he's flung to the ground he can feel his wrist break as he tries to lessen the fall a few more men come and help hold him down as he struggles, two men grab something from the table he can hear the clinks of knives as they come closer. The one dumps the knives out around them as the other hurries near taakos side, he hears a small pop and then feels a pinch as his body goes limp and his mind goes numb.

He can see the men moving around him can see them grabbing for knives and saws, he can hear them rip his clothing off, he feels no pain but the tug and pull of men sawing his left leg nearly makes him vomit. He feels one grab his left hand and meticulously start to cut his fingers off at the root of the bone. He's glad they can't get to his tail right now without a lot of work. Another came up on his right side and grabbed his ear he can see the large meat cleaver as the man brings it down taako shuts his eyes tight. The same man grabs a smaller knife and reaches for taakos face holding it tight. He stares the man down fully expecting this man to kill him. He watches the knife go down and then the vision in his right eye is gone.

\--------------------------------------- you should be good?????---------------------------------

He wonders how his aunt would feel about this he feels as though he deserves this. He's dying and he knows it but it's not near as bad as what he did to those people in glamor springs. He wonders if he will find his aunt in the astral plane, he wonders if its ok if he becomes a lich for 5 minutes to take revenge and then go with death. He wonders if its tears or blood running down his face.

He can feel his magic draining out of him. He can see a bright light he can feel a soft woolen blanket laid over him he feels warm and safe he hears the soft caws and croaks of ravens and crows the bloody smell of the library leaves and he can now smell tea and books he can hear a woman's voice soft and warm like he imagines a mothers “well this will never do” he can feel a soft purr raise up in his chest as consciousness leaves him and screams surround him.

_______________________________________-

it's so bloody” “how many bodies are there?” “we think about 7, 6 guys maybe more their all pulverized, and then one girl in the circle” “god that's a girl?” “an elf too look she still has one ear and her tail” “by the gods is she alive?” “if she is it would be nicer to put her out of her misery” “it really would be...hey! Doc!!! We may have a live one!” “what took you idiots so long to tell me! Marium come here help me we need to……………………..

_______________________________________-

…..“shhhhhhhhhhh calm child you're ok we got you…. Marium grab some sleep drought they’ll panic their stitches open”  
“Got it doc” 

_______________________________________-

“Shit! Doc, grab a bucket her fevers worse and she's puking all over me!”   
“Ah I'm hurrying don't worry keep a hold of her” 

_______________________________________-

“There we go I think her fever broke she may actually make it”   
“I'll be glad when we can find out who she is even if we put up posters no one's gonna recognize the poor thing”  
“She's still so pretty though, mama always did say elves were otherworldly” 

_______________________________________-

The first real clear thought taako has is that his right eye won't open and he can't feel his left leg. The second thing is that he has no idea what happened to him, all he remembers is coming into a town to small to give him trouble. The third thing is that he feels like he should be freaking out but he can't he feels heavy and sluggish he tries to look around and finds that he's in a small room there's some general medical stuff a tray with meds and an iv stand that's hooked to his left arm about 3 thick quilts covering him a desk in the corner covered in papers and if he turns his head enough he can see the hint of another person in the room with him. All he can see is the edge of a dress and some dirty boots that are propped up on the bed he's on.

He tries to move his tail and can only sluggishly move it around he can feel it though so he moves it around trying to find where the edge of the quilts is to move them off his lower body to figure out whats wrong with his leg, just to meet with space that shouldn't be there.   
He sits up as much as he can which isn't much he can really only move his right arm and lift his head which feels very off balance strangely? Looking down he notices the dip in the quilts a dip that stops mid-thigh. With a burst of adrenaline, he grabs the quilts and pushes them down to see what he can. And sure enough, his leg is gone.

Memories of what happened flood back to him and he screams


	2. getting a new home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> taako grows into a new home and then has to leave it for a bit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i used a website to try to beta this (same with the first chapter) and i hope it did a good job i read it it makes sense to me but yeah i tried my best

His scream woke the woman at the end of his bed her feet hit the floor hard as she jumps up. She moves over to his side quickly, gently grabbing his arms and pinning them down with a hug “Doc! Hurry up here she's up!”

As his scream turns to sobs an elderly human man comes into the room. “Oh look at that she is up!” taako dropped his head onto the woman's shoulder as she began to rub his back and softly shush him. Taako sobbed till the adrenaline ran out and the exhaustion and medicine took back over. The woman helped him back onto the pillows and then helped the doctor move chairs around so taako could see them. “You scared us for a while there kiddo, me and mariam here have been slowly healing you im a cleric and shes a cleric in training. You've been in and out of it for about a week now, you almost got taken out by an infection but you're fine now. Do you think you can tell us your name, miss?” 

Taako stopped himself before answering a week was a long time when on the run they easily could know who he was if he gave his real name “Koko.” his voice was hoarse from the scream, he gave a few coughs to try to loosen his throat “My name is Koko, and I'm a boy”

The doctor nodded “ah I'm sorry lad, so Koko can you tell us if you have anyone anywhere we need to get in contact with?” he shook his head “ok fair enough do you think you could tell anyone what happened? The malita have been trying to figure out what went down, course knowing them idiots they haven't done much”

“I-i made a mistake” the woman Mariam scooted closer to his bed laying a gentle hand on what was left of his thigh

“What kind of mistake dear?”

“My auntie told me to stay away from people who want our blood. She said that they would take more. Kaso he-he was nothin but a head afterward, I didn't listen.” he could feel panic clawing back up.

The doctor cooed as he pushed hair from taakos forehead “shhh its ok Koko do you know how those guys died?” taako shook his head. “ok that's ok we can deal with that”

The doctor looks over at Mariam giving her a small nod, she stands and goes to the tray with medicine grabbing a small syringe and handing it to the doctor. As the doctor puts the medicine into the iv Mariam smooths out the mountain of quilts “we can talk to the militia for you don't worry they can be scary to me too. Just try to get some more rest.” the doctor placed his hand on taakos head it was large and cool against the fever that had started to grow again.

As he felt himself falling back to sleep he let out a small “thank you” 

___________________________________________________________________

The next few weeks spent healing wasn't as hard as taako thought it would be, the doctor, who was called doc by everyone including the militia, was kind and never asked too many questions about anything and helped taako relearn how to do things with his messed up hand. Marium though was full of energy and stressed taako out often but despite all that she was a lovely person to deal with, just didn't know how to not talk make sudden loud noises, and taako spent most of his time awake with her. She helped him fix his hair to hide his missing eye and hide some of the scars until he learned to do it on his own, and helped him find things to weigh the right side of his head a bit so he stopped pitching to the right every time he moved.

Mariam liked to take him out into the town in a wheelchair to get him out of the clinic. During his time here in the town, he found it worked a lot like the caravans he grew up in. People traded things they didn't need or gave them away and if someone desperately needed something the town pulled together and helped the person. Which was something they did for him, it brought him to tears when they gave him some clothing. It was just a few warm, worn work dresses that their kids had grown out of but would fit his tiny frame, and they had been so kind as to leave room for his tail to go through them. His bag had been hidden and then lost and the clothing he had been wearing before had been destroyed although his boots would still be good after cleaning all the blood off. It felt nice to have his own clothing since he had been stuck wearing mariam’s clothes which were a few sizes too big and obviously not made for elves.

The town had also helped get him something he didn't even know existed, they called it a prosthetic. It was a new leg, it was made of a hardy lightweight wood and a metal joint for his knee if he wore a boot and a dress no one would ever know he was missing a leg. They said it had been made in a town over called ravens roost. Doc and marium helped him learn to walk again and soon enough he was walking all over town. 

Taako stayed there for a long time news didn't come to the town often and when it did it was only large news and even then it took a few months to learn it. About 7 months after taako got his leg the town learned that ravens roost had been destroyed about a month after the delivery. So taako stayed and went by his childhood name Koko and lived happily.

He had been practicing magic one day in a field by the local school, he thought the class was out and the kids were gone but sure enough, some kids had lingered and next thing he knew he was teaching kids magic after school. It was just simple things like cantrips and first level spells stuff that would be useful on a farm and a few protection spells to ease his own anxiety. It took only a few weeks till little Edna used prestidigitation to clean her little sister after she slipped in a mud puddle and people found out he was teaching them stuff.

About one day after that the teacher at the school came up and asked him to join her in teaching the kids. He took over math and taught the kids magic for an hour after classes. He lived with doc and marium in the clinic and lived a quiet life for about 5 years. 

___________________________________________________________________

Nice things tend to not last, he was used to this. But he didn't want to leave, he really really didn't but now the town could be in danger because of him and he loves these people to fiercely to stay.

The day had been quiet he taught the kids and was on his way home but had to stop and drop something off for the innkeeper. A half-tiefling man in traveling armor with a war hammer next to him was sitting at the bar and looked at taako when he came in. As taako gave the barkeep, jack, the medicine and made small talk with him, the man did a double take and dropped his beer. 

“Hey what's the deal! You gotta pay for that!” Jack yelled as he went to the back room to get a broom taako moved away from the man lifting his skirt up against the splash and looked over at him and instantly went pale.

“Sazed?” sazed nodded standing up and walking towards him slowly backing him up against a wall. he dropped his basket and put his hands out in front of him bowing at the waist to become smaller “Sazed oh gods I'm sorry! please dont I'll give you anything! Don't do anything! Just leave!” 

“Taako taaco I never thought id see your ugly face again. You got a big bounty I ain't leaving without you I'm so broke after the shit you pulled. You ruined everything!” sazed lept at him grabbing his arms and yanking him over away from the wall and pushing him onto the ground. 

“Hey get away from him!” jack came back from the back room after hearing the yelling a few of the men also in the bar had stood and were rounding up around the two of them. Taako can see one of them grab the war hammer sazed had left. He tried to back away but his leg was damaged when he was tossed down. 

“Do you not know who this is? They're using you like they used me! This bitch killed 40 people! In glamor springs poisoned them with their cooking, you don't want them in your town let me take them”

 

One of the older men in the group, uncle Bob, came forward backed by his eldest son, George, with the war hammer “now listen here, that kid’s been in this town for over 5 years been teachin’ our kids for about 4 we know about glamor springs we ain't stupid there ain't no way that boy poured arsenic in that food.”

“wait, arsenic? Sazed? Arsenic? No, it was-it was the elderberries! Arsenic is way to hard to make!” Taakos heart stopped “sazed? Why weren't you out on stage with me?”

Sazed started to move closer to the door “ I didn't do shit I was mad at you! But I didn't do shit!” the group moved closer around sazed.

George forever young and dumb, a boy taako had taught, walked closer standing in between taako and sazed “This is starting to sound like you were the one guilty their friend” 

“All that bitch had to do was eat the food and die! cuz they didn't do that those people died! He killed them!” sazed pulled a hunting knife out holding it defensively as he rushed George. George scared out of his mind swung the hammer hitting sazed square in the ribs knocking him to the ground where he hit his head on a metal stool knocking his head open. Jack lifted taako up and carried him away and outside as blood poured out of sazeds head. He could hear uncle bob tell for one of the boys to go to the clinic for the doctor and for more to go get some more people. They still had to finish him.

___________________________________-

It didn't take long for most of the town to show up at the inn, taako was left sitting outside alone as he cried silently because of the fight but everyone coming in and out made sure to check on him. His leg had been twisted and he fell on the knee joint he could feel pain in it and was a little afraid to take it off without help. He watched as the butcher and one of the dairy farmers carried the body out and into the woods, a group of the younger men carrying shovels followed. 

Jack came back out and picked taako up carefully carrying him into the bar and setting him as far away as he could from the blood that a few of the women and men were scrubbing. 

Doc and Mariam came over to him, Mariam helped him lift his heavy skirt and undo the straps holding his leg on “how you doing over here Koko?”

He couldn't lie to Mariam after all these years she was like a sister to him, “I uh I don't know? Sazed is dead cuz of me? But he also is the reason that I thought I killed a bunch of people? And now poor George killed him and I'm worried about how he's doin’ I'm worried about how you all feel about me.” he could feel fresh tears start to fall. 

Doc helped gently take his leg and sock off looking his stump over for injuries. “Koko, this town is just one big family, and your part of our family. You have been since we found you and even more so when you became a teacher. We knew about glamor springs after seeing a poster of you before the accident, you don't look too much like you used to but after living with you for 6 months it was easy to see the similarities. We know you couldn't have done it and we all love you and therefore if anyone ever came for you we all decided they had to go not you.”

Mariam nodded and helped wipe his face “the guy wouldn't leave and he'd probably go get the malita and you know how we all hate them idiots so the guy had to die. We'd do it for you and we'd do it for anyone in this town. He was an outsider anyway. And if the malita comes looking for the guy? Well, I don't think they will find him now will they doc?”

Doc laughed “nope not a hair” he soothed the bruises that were growing and then helped put his leg back and help steady him as he stood. “Let's go home you two”

___________________________________________________________________

Normally news took a long time to reach the tiny town it took 6 months to learn a town that was next to them was completely destroyed. But the militia had come in to talk about sazeds disappearance within 2 weeks. 

He had been at the school when they had come through looking for sazed, and sure enough, everyone stayed quiet saying they had never seen or heard of him. The people of the town expected them to leave immediately but they didn't they stayed and hung around town talking to anyone and everyone who passed. Mariam and jack came and got him and brought him to the clinic skirting past the militia. 

He stayed hidden in the clinic for a week before he made his decision, he had to leave before the town got in trouble because of him. He left a note in his shaky writing and packed his clothing and left. As he got down the stairs he found doc at the kitchen table drinking some coffee “Koko? Dear you can't go out yet just a few more days”

Taako sighed coming into the kitchen with his pack “doc, I'm sorry I gotta go. It's too dangerous for you all. Just tell them I did it tell them where the body is I can run its fine I did it before”

Doc got up coming over to him “Koko it's ok we can protect you, your family” he leaned down and gave taako a kiss on the forehead “but if you want to leave we won't stop you. We also won't tell them you did it if they ask about it because you didn't do anything” 

“Doc, thank you for what you've done. You and Mariam and everyone just thank you tell them for me?” he was trying to not cry.

“I'll let them know dear.” doc smoothed taakos hair so it covered his eye well “please come back home if you can. We love you.”

“I will doc, I will. I'll come home.” doc took him out the back way helping him down the old rickety stairs and watched as he walked into the forest. He swore he'd come home again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heeeeeeeeeey next chapter the boys all meet up!!! so yeah look forward to that! also, come to my tumblr???? it's like 10am and i stayed up all night and morning writing this and ima take a nap now but uuuuuuuugh yeah i plan to do a drawing of what taako looks like in this fic? so that way people know whats going on with him and im gonna draw it when i eventually wake up so yeah
> 
> http://hyatt-death.tumblr.com


	3. here be gerblins and moonlighting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooooooooooooooooo its been a while.........and also its midnight and im on heavy painkillers so dont expect this to be wonderful

Had Taako known when he meet these idiots that he’d be stuck in a dried up well holding onto a man twice his size while said man has a panic attack and a dwarf would be sitting on a large orc woman trying to ‘hold her down’. Hed tell these idiots to kindly fuck off and he'd have gone back to his sweet tiny town.

It's been two weeks travel and he just got to neverwinter. He's in the town square trying to read craigs list, and listen craig needs to write bigger, taakos only got one eye here his eye site kinda sucks. Some old crunchy looking dwarf had just told him about a job but gave him no info other than ‘hey you look strong my cousin is looking for strong people to escort stuff go look at that craigs list’ and then gave him no other info other than some wierd pan pamphlet . So here he is looking at craigs list hoping to find said job.

Taako is not a smart man but after his time in the little town with doc and mariam he's now a level three wizard he's pretty sure he can handle himself if he gets attacked again. He even found a nice big stick to use as a walking stick and wand and hey if magic fails he can always wack someone in the head. He has maybe been staring at this list for to long because next think he knows he's being tapped on the shoulder.

And of course he swings his walking stick and hits the person in the face while he screams. The guy screams too as he goes down arms flailing. “Oh gods are you ok!”

“What the fuck!” taako flinched as the man's nose started to bleed, he may have to run. Although something about him seems familiar he wonders if maybe he passed through town one day. “No im not ok you busted my nose!”

“Sorry sorry here,” taako dug around in his pockets for a rag, looking it over and finds it mostly clean, he bends at the waist and hands it over “i'm kind of a jumpy dude”

“I kinda noticed” the man takes it and holds it up to his nose, standing up. He was about a foot taller than taako and about twice as wide and something about him was so familiar, he held his hand out and when taako took it the man shook it so hard his whole arm was shook. “Sorry to sneak up on you i'm magnus by the way” 

“Well uh hello magnus im koko” after hearing his name magnus stopped and stared a look of confusion on his face.

“Are-are you sure?” taako could feel the sweat start to form as he nodded “huh weird. Have we met before?”

“Nope uh no way i've lived in a tiny town bout 2 weeks outside ravens roost for to long you have me mistaken my dude.”

“Oh uh sorry, wait the one on the west side?” the man's face lit up as taako nodded “i used to live in ravens roost i've been in that town a bunch we traded with them!”

Relief flooded him that explained a little bit about him looking familiar he must have met him in town one day. “small world and all that”

“Yeah! So do you need help? You were staring at that board a while there and i needed to look to so i thought maybe i could help you i'm really good at helping.i noticed the um you know” magnus pointed to his own scared up eye “thought maybe you were having issues reading? Was that rude? I mean im like half blind in my own scared eye. Oh fantasy jesus there goes my rustic hospitality”

“Yes! I mean yes i need help not that it's rude though maybe? Maybe just don't mention that eye but I do actually need help some crunchy dwarf told me his cousin was looking for strong dudes and i guess that me somehow?”

“Did he give you a pan pamphlet?” taako nodded “he gave me one too i guess maybe we’ll work together huh!” 

“If we can find the ad then yeah, it’d be nice to work with a big strong guy like you” with that the two searched together and found the ad and met up with gundren, merle, and barry.   
_____________________________________

Poor Barry he attempted to say his name was Sildar Hallwinter but he wasn’t fooling taako, he had some itch in the back of his head that told him Barry was lying and that he had to tease him about it. But now Barry was dead and Gundren probably was too and they were stuck in the bottom of some dry well. His walking stick is broke and burned and his prosthetic is under killian and merle and he's half afraid his knee joint is tangled in his dress and her chainmail but magnus is staring up at the huge burst of flames above them with the same far away look taako himself gets sometimes and that needs fixing first. 

He's already practically in Magnus’s lap so it's not hard to reach him after yanking his leg out from under killian, he sinks his hands into Mangus’ sideburns and might tug a bit to get the huge guy to look at him. “Mags! Maggie come on bud its ok its ok just stay with me here.”

“I-koko?” taako could see tears forming

“Yeah it's me magnus your ok i got you” tears started to stream down his face as he grabbed taako and clung to him laying his head on his shoulder and crying openly. Taako could do nothing but rub his back and shush him trying to calm him like mariam used to do for him. He wants to simply take magnus and protect him as he cries. He wants to protect him and merle despite merles weirdness. He's had a weird feeling about magnus and merle for a while, it wasn't bad it was the same itch he got with barry it was as if they fit into his soul, as if he had known them before and he hadn't even ever met them. It could also just be his paternal instinct kicking in though, his grown a little protective of people after teaching the kids. 

Eventually the fire stopped and with a lot of work they got out of the well and got the glove from the ashes. He has to hold on to magnus for stability his leg joint is definitely stuck and yeah he had picked up some weird dumb red umbrella that's the right size to use as a cane but he's not sure if it can hold him without snapping. 

Taako really isn't paying much attention something about the gauntlet is not adding up he feels like the answer is on a ledge and he can't quite get it. It's the same as before the accident when looking in the mirror something was wrong but he couldn't name it, now that he thinks of it it's the same as when he met barry and he lied about his name. He really doesn't come out of his thought till a giant metal cannon ball lands in front of him.

Apparently they're going to the moon,ok cool strangely not the weirdest shit that’s happened today. When they get to the moon the orc killian runs off to tell some madam director about them. They're left with Avi, who is sweet he gives each of them a swig of brandy so strong it makes taako shudder all the way down through his tail and he may have hit merle in the face with it too. Avi asks the three to hang out sometime and taako makes a mental note to hang out with him after this weird shit calms down.

Next they meet the half-elf johann who is also a sweet boy and reminds taako of some of his students, his music is so beautiful it brings the boys to tears, and after dealing with the voidfish taako makes sure to give johann a cookie from one of his bags of holding and a pat on the back.  
________________

The director is a beautiful woman,older with a long afro that was bone white a thick braid runs around her hairline holding her hair back from her face. She feels like home like merle and magnus do and he wonders yet again if they feel it too. She looks regal in her blue gown and taako feels rather simple and dirty staring up at her. 

She calls for someone named davenport to come give them some money for bringing the gauntlet in and taako feels his heart drop. A red-headed gnome steps out his long tail limply dragging behind him as though he could no longer control it. The director tells them his name is davenport and that it's all he can say something that davenport confirms cheerfully. Something about him is the same as magnus, merle and the director and he can feel that this is wrong and should not be. The gold he hands him feels heavier and colder than it should.

“Why should we give you this?” it's then that taako realizes the director won't look at him. “Hey hello? Over here y’know the elf? The simple idiot wizard? Why should we give you this gauntlet?”

She then finally looks at him giving a small grimace she tries to hide, well it wasn't the first time he's had someone sneer at his looks won't be the last “oh don't sell yourself short”

Magnus laughs “no he's no hes not it's pretty accurate”

Taako laughs as well “no, i appreciate it but im comfortable where i'm at. I'm just standing my truth here i can teach little kids math and cantrips and other than that i'm stupid so tell us why we should give this to you”

merle pipes up fast "wait you were a teacher?" 

"yeah but not a great one dont get weird about it" 

She looks a bit surprised and then sighs looking away again “we are an organization built to destroy them. The gauntlet is one of the worse relics to ever be made. There's 7 main relics that must be stopped we are working on finding the 7 and you currently hold the first one”

It doesn't take taako long to think about it looking over at the other two giving a small nod he takes the gauntlet out and sits it in the container to be destroyed, while the others go to watch taako stays back away from the director unsure how she feels about him. 

The director tells them about the different functions of the bureau of balance and decides they must be tested first before their hired. Next he knows he's waking up down in an arena with three huge robot ogres staring down at him and nope nope nope not happening he scrambles away while the other two do their thing. His knee joint is still messed up so it's hard to get away but he manages it. As he gets away the ogres chase and his bag begins to heat up he scrambles to find the item messing up to find the red umbrella shaking and burning as he lifts it out of the bag it shoots off three magic missles sending them sailing at the ogres knocking the three out cold.

Taako stares out at the three robots now laid out “Well that’ll do it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lucretia may seem like shes being rude to taako i love her dearly and im not trying to make her seem mean she will get better around taako its just i feel like shes in a bit of shock at it i like to imagine she lost track of taako after glamor springs so she has no idea what has happened to him
> 
> next time!!!!! expect fun with leon fantasy cosco messes breaking down because of a physical and magnus finally fixing taakos leg!

**Author's Note:**

> incase the part before he passes out doesnt make sense cuz like i doubt ill ever work it into the story all the ipre are multiclassers taako is a multi classer with some cleric skills but he doesnt remember he is but somewhere in his head he remembered (cuz he was kinda dying) and used gate to call oghma at the same time cult guys used the summoning circle to summon the raven queen and then istus was like on her way period to be like yo no taako you cant die so yeah the three gods just kinda destroyed the guys completely


End file.
